Mr. Franklin and his ideas are a shining example of the direction that education ought be moving in order to bring positive change to our schools. In this interview he shares his opinions of the educational system, which, while shared by many, are not necessarily representative of all other educators. This is part three of an on going series. Read part 1 and part 2.
Q: Are you saying that teaching quality isn’t a factor?
A: No, not at all. I believe that teaching quality is extremely important. Earlier I mentioned that a possible negative impact of “No Child Left Behind” was the increased focus on the tests (e.g. teaching to it), but, other aspects of the policy have been fantastic for the schools. For example, many schools used to hire improperly credentialed teachers, but “No Child Left Behind” has forced the schools to only hire properly “qualified” teachers. Make no mistake that “qualified” does not necessarily mean excellent educator, but it can’t hurt to insist that teachers be fully trained in the subjects they teach.
The overall point I am trying to make is that education is a team sport. Every member of the team needs to participate – not just participate, but really put in concentrated effort – in order for the whole team to succeed. To have an effective educational system, we need good teachers and administrators, and we also need the kids and parents to be equally rigorous, engaged, and pro-active with the learning process. Putting 100% of the burden on any given player (stakeholder) is unfair to the team. You can’t pin the success of any team on a single player. This isn’t a criticism but an observation.
But the nice thing about a team is that if one person slacks, the rest of the team can pick up the slack and the team can still do well. So, in an ideal world, if a teacher isn’t that “good,” it just means everyone else on the team – parents, siblings, grandparents, the student, etc., puts in more of an effort so the student still succeeds.
The issue we face in my school is that often several of the players on the team are handicapped by their socio-economic difficulties. When some of society’s ills are fixed so stakeholders can focus more on education, then schools like mine will have a better atmosphere for success. Until we do, measuring achievement with the apples to apples standardized test is misleading at best. My students learn in my class, no doubt, but this does not necessarily translate into measurable achievement.
Q: So, if eliminating testing is not going to fix the educational problems, what will?
A: I believe that the school system needs to adapt an entire new philosophy of what defines “smart.” Currently, “smart” is narrowly defined by the school system (and society in general) as someone with certain academic achievement. The schools test to see how “smart” each child is and focus their efforts on making kids “smart” enough to go to college. Kids who are not labeled as “smart” may have serious self-esteem implications.
I prefer to look at “smart” through the lens of Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences – that there are 7 types of “intelligences” and academics is only one of them. I believe that every child is “smart” or “talented” in their own way, and instead of asking “How smart are you?” the schools should be asking “How are you smart?” A child may not be “smart” academically, or may not have the tools necessary to meet “expected” achievement levels in “expected” areas, but they may be a brilliant athlete, artist, musician, etc. who has been told they are not smart in an objective, test-oriented metric.
More often than not, education focuses on trying to force academic talent on kids rather than letting them flourish in their individual talents. We should be challenging kids to see in what areas they are smart, and then encouraging them to learn and grow in the areas of interest and talent, in addition to academics. When kids partake in classes they enjoy, they will have a more positive attitude towards school, and thus do better in all their classes, including the academic ones. This will tremendously help self-esteem and equip kids who are not as “academically smart” (for whatever reason/s) to succeed as adults in careers that utilize their talents. I believe it to be counter-productive that the education system’s emphasis is that every child must go to college. Every child should be able to find their talent and pursue it to its utility.
I believe we must expand and encourage elective classes, including vocational arts. In recent years, electives have been decimated, which makes it harder for kids to find what they are good at. As I mentioned before, only certain classes are evaluated for the API testing, and kids who do not excel in those areas are being mislabeled as “not smart” when they may flourish in areas not currently being monitored.
Q: And you believe the leadership elective class you teach is an example of how electives can help kids to find talents and learn skills beyond academics?
A: Absolutely. All schools have a leadership class of sorts. But usually, the leadership kids are essentially gophers, assisting teachers and administrators with various one-dimensional functions, such as decorating for dances or collecting tickets at the door. Sometimes the kids do PA announcements. But in my leadership class, I genuinely try to equip these children to become future leaders. Leadership should teach leadership.
There are three parts to my leadership class. First and foremost, I focus the personal qualities of a leader, where I use an assortment of activities to help them grow in quality of character. The second is to find opportunities for the kids to actually lead in the school. The third is exposing them to future opportunities to lead in the community and world. In that section, I focus on civics, local to global, and I arrange meetings with elected representatives. My students have met with members of Congress, municipal and state representatives, and even the first lady of the United States. They also participate in community and volunteer-oriented programs so they can see for themselves how much their work makes a difference.
Read parts 4 and 5 of the series.
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Christi Grab is contributing editor and writer for Parentella. She is a native of Southern California. After graduating from San Diego State University, she went on to be a successful business woman. In April of 2007, she and her husband decided to put their careers on hold and travel the world for two years. Ms. Grab has recently returned from her travels and is currently writing a book about their adventure. For more information on the trip, visit http://kosmos.liveflux.net/blog.
